DARLINGTON communities have been sharing their ideas for how up to £20m of Government funds should be spent.

The town has been awarded the funding under an initiative called Pride in Place, primarily aimed at changing lives in disadvantages areas.

The initiative has already helped fund a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) centre in Darlington, as well as improvements to dropped kerbs across the town to make accessibility easier for people with mobility issues.

Now, Sarah Small, manager of Darlington’s Pride in Place programme, has visited three community hubs across the town to hear from local residents how best to improve their communities.

She said: “Often with these sorts of projects, decisions are made without anyone even speaking to the local people who are supposed to benefit.

“This often means that communities end up with something that looked like a good idea from the outside, but which they don’t really need or want.

“We want local people to have a say in how this money is spent in Darlington, so we can maximise the impact it has.”

Sarah and her team initially heard from residents in three of the Darlington communities prioritised for Pride in Place investment: Red Hall, Bank Top, and Skerne Park.

To encourage people to attend, the events also featured a variety of arts, crafts, sports, and games, while Wild Science Animal Encounters introduced local children to frogs, geckos, giant snails, a bearded dragon, and an African pygmy hedgehog.

Additional community engagement events are being planned for the remaining areas targeted by the Pride in Place regeneration plan: Northgate and Branksome.

Clare Foster, chair of Eastbourne Park Community Hub, which falls within the Bank Top community, said: “We really welcome Pride in Place. We’re always happy to support anything that gives back to the community, and we’re  100 per cent behind this.

“I think it’s very good that they’re going out to local people and asking what they need. People often aren’t asked, and things get done that they didn’t want or weren’t really needed.

“This way, people have had a chance to be involved, and a chance to have some control over what is done in their communities.”

Although the project will focus on these areas where investment is most needed, Sarah stressed that the communities identified are not defined by strict boundaries, meaning other parts of the town will also benefit.

The team’s findings will be submitted to the Pride in Place board and published within the next few weeks at www.darlingtonprideinplace.com.